A specific notice gets a fair, traceable review

• copyright and moral-rights complaints;
• registered or unregistered trade mark and passing-off claims;
• confidential information or court-order concerns;
• defamation complaints about reviews, profiles or job content;
• impersonation and false attribution;
• other content-based legal complaints not better handled as an online-safety report.

Threats, severe abuse, non-consensual intimate content and illegal material should also follow the Online Safety Policy.

Submit a content complaint

The online centre creates a case reference. The notice email and address for service must still be configured and monitored before launch. No submission channel may silently discard legal notices.

A copyright complaint should include:

• the claimant's name, contact details and authority if acting for the owner;
• a clear description of the copyright work and, where available, a lawful reference copy or location;
• the exact ServiceLink content, job, review, profile or URL said to infringe;
• the acts complained of and why no permission, exception or licence applies;
• a statement that the information is accurate and the complaint is made in good faith;
• the requested outcome.

Do not send identity documents, full unpublished works or sensitive evidence unless requested through an approved secure channel.

A defamation complaint should identify:

• the complainant and safe contact details;
• the exact words, image or other matter complained of and where it appears;
• the imputations or meanings said to arise;
• why the matter identifies or refers to the complainant and why it is said to cause, or be likely to cause, serious harm;
• the material facts said to be false or unsupported;
• the correction, removal, right of reply or other action sought.

This process does not determine court rights or extend, waive or replace a statutory concerns-notice regime. Obtain legal advice about formal time limits and requirements.

1. Record the notice, timestamp, affected content and a stable case reference.
2. Triage imminent safety, illegality, court-order and repeated infringement risks. Temporarily restrict access only where reasonably justified.
3. Check whether the notice contains enough information. Seek a focused clarification rather than rejecting it on a technicality.
4. Consider ownership, licence, exceptions, public interest, authenticity, context and the rights of the content author.
5. Where appropriate and lawful, give the uploader the substance of the complaint and an opportunity to respond without disclosing unnecessary personal information.
6. Decide on no action, correction, right of reply, access restriction, removal, account action or legal escalation. Record reasons and notify the parties to the extent lawful.

The proposed operational target is acknowledgment within two business days. The substantive timeframe depends on urgency and complexity. This target must not be represented as operational until the channel is staffed and tested.

ServiceLink may take proportionate action against knowingly false, fraudulent or abusive notices and against repeat infringement. A mistaken good-faith complaint is not treated as abuse merely because it is unsuccessful.

Content is not removed solely because it is critical, embarrassing or commercially inconvenient. Equally, calling content an “opinion” does not automatically answer a legal complaint.

• Attorney-General's Department: copyright basics (opens in a new tab)
• Attorney-General's Department: copyright owners (opens in a new tab)
• IP Australia: trade marks (opens in a new tab)